The old-world charisma of solid hardwood flooring is very popular in the United States and Europe. In the past few decades, the US flooring industry has manufactured around$2.6 billion worth of wood flooring materials for commercial and domestic usage. For long now, hardwood floorings have added warmth and charm to several mansions and villas. Different kinds of flooring materials have gone in and out of fashion but hardwood floors have retained position as a real value-add to home interiors.
Solid Hardwood Flooring: Facts
The term ‘solid hardwood flooring’ generally brings to mind a standard red oak flooring strip, 3/4″ thick and 2 1/4″ wide. Hardwood flooring is available a variety of colors and sizes, with widths varying from 3 to 6 or even more. Custom-milled sizes can be less than three inches too.
All sizes of wood would be equally durable if finishing is done well and it has been installed properly. Many believe that thinner hardwood planks make for more durability. However, the width of the plank affects the appearance of the room, rather than durability. Narrow planks give a formal look while planks wider than 4 inches lend a country house feel to the room.
While installing solid hardwood flooring, it s crucial to remember that some gap has to be left around the perimeter for the wood to expand. Even the best quality solid wood floors react to moisture. Slight gaps between planks will leave space for the wood to expand in the humid summer months. However, too much moisture may cause the planks to crumple. Therefore, it is recommended that homeowners who have installed hardwood floors must keep the relative humidity of the rooms between 40 – 55%. This would minimize any alteration in the wood size and quality. The wood also has to be acclimatized. For this reason, a professional contractor would leave the planks at the venue for a few days prior to installation.
Solid Hardwood Flooring: Unfinished and Pre-finished
Solid hardwood flooring is of two types, namely, unfinished and pre-finished. The former refers to flooring material that has not gone through the last finishing steps such as, sanding, staining, buffing and coating. Therefore, the homeowner would have to complete these procedures to enhance the wood quality. For this reason, pre-finished hardwood flooring are more popular. This kind of flooring is less time-consuming to install, since all the required work and the finishing has been completed by the manufacturer.
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